Outside Oxford: Former President of Ghana, Former Chairperson of the African Union, World Food Prize Laureate 2011, amongst others.

28th December 2000. The atmosphere all over Ghana was one of tension and nervous excitement. People stood with bated breath as they awaited the results of the run-off between Ghana’s two dominant parties – the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress. And then there it was! John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor had defeated the opposition after they had been in power for about two decades. The capital city of Accra was ecstatic! Their voices had been heard – and positive change, the New Patriotic Party’s apt mantra, was coming, they could sense it! Who was this man? And what was he about to do?

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor was born in Kumasi, Ghana and attended Prempeh College and Lincoln’s Inn in London prior to his admission at Exeter College at the University of Oxford to read law. In the first year, he boldly changed his subject to one that he felt would give him a more holistic training for the future – Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He was described by his former tutor, Mr Christopher Kirwan as having the “ability to achieve great heights, a good student, an intellectual who had an important future.” Little did he know what the future held in store for him, for in January 2001, he was sworn in as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Under his Presidency, Ghana saw some marked improvements. The economy was stabilized after filing for debt relief under the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program, microfinance loans were made available to the productive population and a national health insurance scheme was implemented. He also changed the senior secondary school curriculum from three to four years, somewhat controversially, to model the British education system, a decision that gave students a more rigorous grounding and more time to decide on their career trajectory prior to university. A national school feeding programme was also launched to incentivize student attendance and alleviate the burden of care on parents while helping to eradicate hunger in children. Primary enrolment rates sky-rocketed with Ghana meeting the enrolment targets for Millennium Development Goal 2, although full attendance, retention and completion rates have been questioned as some parents would mischievously withdraw their children after meal times at school. Nevertheless, the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) was an unprecedented policy that has been sustained by subsequent governments and replicated in other parts of the continent. This and other efforts would then earn him the joint World Food Prize in 2011, with President Lula Da Silva of Brazil. President Kufuor’s passion for education stayed with him, and it infused his admirers.

President Kufuor’s tenure as president was exemplary to many including other Presidents on the continent, who elected him as Chairperson of the African Union for the 2007–08 session. Upon leaving his office, he has remained devoted to the cause for the greater good of Ghana. As an honorary fellow of Exeter College, he returned to the College to formally launch the John Kufuor Scholarship for a graduate student from Ghana in October 2007. After a lifetime of achievement, President Kufuor will turn 80 in December 2018 and the Kufuor Foundation has instituted a campaign named Eighty for Eighty, aimed at raising GHS 80 million for 80 years. We celebrate the achievements and contributions of President John A. Kufuor to life at Oxford, Ghana and Africa. The Oxford University Africa Society (Afrisoc) also appreciates his generous donation to its very own initiative, given this past summer when he interacted with members of Afrisoc in Ghana.

Photo: Former President Kufuor receiving the AfriSoc delegation at his home in Ghana. Sept 12, 2018. His donation made during this visit will fund the African Oxonians Project and application fees for up to 10 selected mentees based on demonstrated need, from our Scholarships and Access program.

Source: Oxford University Africa Society

George Bernard Shaw is famously quoted as saying “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Former President Kufuor persisted in trying to adapt the world to his vision and his ideals. African Oxonians and Africans in general should take a cue from his life story – and endeavour to return home and change Africa for the better. Let us be unreasonable men and women, who allow the West to cultivate and educate us, and then return to Mother Africa to plant seeds and nurture our fertile soil, so that Africa grows and bears sumptuous fruit for all to savour. Former President Kufuor is now written indelibly in history as one of Ghana and Africa’s greatest leaders – a tall tree that has ascended to great heights, one that we can all look up to and aspire to reach.

Written by:

Atinuke Olu-Lutherking

Atinuke Olu-Lutherking is a DPhil Inorganic Chemistry Candidate at the University of Oxford, specializing in polymer chemistry. Prior to coming to Oxford, she studied for a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Cambridge, and several master’s-level qualifications at Loghborough University, the University of Warwick, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. She is a science student who is also passionate about the arts, creative writing and African studies.

Papa Kojo Botsio is the President of the Oxford University Africa Society (2018-19). He’s a Second Year DPhil in Comparative and International Education at Oxford, researching Welfare Policy and Rural Disadvantage in Access to Higher Education in Ghana. Prior to Oxford he studied for an MPA in Social Policy at Cornell University and a BA in Sociology and Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Studies at Swarthmore College. His interests are in Welfare Policy broadly, with a specialization in Education, having worked in education research and university access consulting.

We are excited to introduce you to the team that will be leading the 2019 edition of the Oxford Africa Conference. We received a number of strong applications, and the Selection Committee was impressed by the applicants' passion for the continent and commitment to foster deliberate engagement and afro-centric development in Africa and the Diaspora.

AfriSoc has entrusted the organisation of the 2019 Africa Conference to Primrose Adjepong (Ghana), MPP student and Oxford-Poler Scholar at the Blavatnik School of Government , Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh (Ghana), an MPP student at the Blavatnik School of Government and Anupah Makoond (Mauritius), an MBA student at the Said Business School.

Primrose, Prosper and Anupah are set to host the continent's preeminent, student-led conference, on Africa facing issues in collaboration with an equally impressive team of conference managers from all corners of Africa and her Diaspora:

Anupah Makoond

Anupah is an Msc. in Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation candidate and will subsequently pursue an MBA as part of the Said Business School MBA 1 +1 programme. I hope that these two years will equip me with the skills and afford me the space to explore pathways towards more effective peacebuilding. I have spent the last five years working on peacebuilding projects in conflict affected societies, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, I worked for a civil society platform, advocating for more effective drug policies in Mauritius. I have been lucky to live in, and travel to, different parts of Africa and find immense beauty in its diversity. As co-chair of the 2019 Africa Oxford Conference, I hope to tap into the multiplicity of facets and resources that Africa and the African diaspora have to offer.

Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh

Mr. Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh is a trained Theoretical Physicist, Mathematician, and Computer Scientist. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2006 with First Class Honours in Physics and Computer Science. His has also carried out graduate studies at the Abdus Salam Internal Centre for Theoretical Physics and the University of Trieste, both in Italy. He is currently an AIG Scholar and a candidate in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) Programme, at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Prosper is extremely accomplished having worked in the fields of Energy Engineering, Policy, Regulations and Communications.

In September 2017, Prosper was adjourned the highest achiever in Ghana’s energy sector under the age of 40, at Ghana’s maiden 40 Under Forty Awards Ceremony. In the same year, he was a finalist for the Rising Star Award at the maiden Ghana Energy Awards. In 2016, he was awarded the Mandela Washington Fellowship Award by President Barack Obama. In the same year, Prosper was a finalist for the Future Energy Leader Award in West Africa, at the West African Power Industry Awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria.

Primrose Adjepong

Primrose is a candidate in the Master of Public Policy program and an Oxford-Poler Scholar at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Having been educated at the African Leadership Academy in South Africa and being an African entrepreneur herself, she is passionate about advancing African development in different fields and capacities. During her undergraduate years at St Andrews University, she was responsible for creating Africa-focused events and hopes to draw from those experiences to co-create what will be a landmark conference for all attendees.

Her specific areas of interest include social justice, education and community development. She has worked in Senegal and The Gambia with research and advocacy groups to eradicate female genital mutilation, and in Hong Kong to deliver educational workshops for refugees, asylum seekers and the wider community. Born and raised in Ghana, Primrose is passionate about education in Ghana. She co-founded Butterfly Effect, a start-up which creates unconventional educational curricula and experiences, which serve to supplement the Ghanaian national curriculum in selected under-resourced schools. She seeks to sharpen through her current masters, her ability to design, deliver and measure the impact of good policy so that she can impact many more Ghanaians and Africans on a larger scale, particularly in education but more broadly in building human-capacity.

Have Your Say:

The Oxford Africa Conference team are looking to make the conference experience more participatory this year so that we can deliver an event that you would want to be at. Before the theme and content for next year's conference is finalised, we want to know your thoughts views and ideas. Please take a couple of minutes to fill in this super short questionnaire to help inspire decisions about the conference.

]]>Graduate Research and Innovation (GRAIN)http://www.oxforduniversityafricasociety.com/graduate-research-and-innovation-network-grain/
http://www.oxforduniversityafricasociety.com/graduate-research-and-innovation-network-grain/#respondSat, 03 Nov 2018 04:08:49 +0000http://www.oxforduniversityafricasociety.com/?p=1428In partnership with the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx), the Oxford Africa Society launched the Graduate Research and Innovation (GRAIN) convenings. GRAIN is a platform for AfriSoc members, AfOx visiting fellows and affiliates to present, discuss and encourage action on current issues affecting the African continent. We invite conveners to share their work and partner with the Africa Oxford Initiative whose visiting fellows co-present on their research. The presentations are intended to be 15 minutes in length and provide a launching pad for an audience – presenter discussion on the topic, as well as inspiring some call to action or impetus for collaboration. Learn more about the first convening here:

The first GRAIN convening was hosted by AfOx-Law Visiting Fellow, Dr Busingye Kabumba and AfriSoc member, Mbalenhle Matandela (MSc African Studies, Oxon) on the topic: To what extent does Uganda’s rule of law protect or fail its most vulnerable. The room was littered with students and academics from various disciplines including law, development studies, medicine, maths, public health and education; who came together to hear presentations by the conveners and engage with them face-to-face on the real implications of their research.

Dr Kabumba, who is a Lecturer in Law at Makerere University in Uganda; was among a group of scholars who was noted, in March 2016, by the Supreme Court of that country as being widely researched and highly experienced with regard to constitutionalism, human rights and good governance and who were, on this basis, admitted by that Court as Amici Curiae in Presidential Election Petition No.1 of 2016. Dr Kabumba opened the session, tracing the historical development of Uganda’s constitution and seminal moments that framed the nation’s identity. ‘A society is usually bound by a common experience and a common thread. In Uganda, as is the case with many post-colonial states, the thread that binds is, unfortunately, military force’, he observed.

Mbalenhle, who is a radical black feminist and a recent graduate of the University of Oxford’s renowned MSc in African Studies, described the intellectual and socio-political violence that ‘rule by law’ can inflict on the most vulnerable. Citing the Ugandan government’s treatment of women, including Dr. Stella Nyanzi, she explained, ‘If a woman with the power to test ‘isms’ of the state speaks out, they presume she must be crazy’.

The participants in the convening (who included Dr Anne Makena, the AfOx Program Coordinator; Yusuf Serunkuma, another AfOx Visiting Scholar as well as both the current and immediate Presidents of the Oxford Africa Society) also had an opportunity to weigh in on both presentations.

The questions and comments that followed covered a wide range of contemporary issues relating to constitutionalism and the rule of law in Uganda and Africa as a whole. These included the extent to which contemporary African Constitutions are a true reflection of the values of the societies to whom they address; perceived or actual conflicts between African values and western ideals on homosexuality, minority rights, women’s empowerment and justice; the place, nature and role of the public intellectual; the role of the (largely elite) legal profession in the democratic decline of African States; the tendency towards false constitutionalism and ‘rule by law’; and the construction of national identity in the post-colonial State. On the rule of law, AfOx visiting Scholar, Yusuf Serunkuma noted, “Its a matter of justice and accessibility. Legal protection in Uganda is completely inaccessible. In Uganda, the highest service one can request is that of a lawyer. Therefore, legal recourse is left only for those with the money to access it.”

(left) Mbali Matandela recounting her fieldwork experience in Uganda which was supported through a grant from the Africa Oxford initiative.

Drawing on her experiences in Uganda, where she conducted field research supported by the Africa Oxford initiative, Mbalenhle reflected upon the true nature of public intellectualism and activism in Uganda. She recounted discussions with ordinary Ugandans, explaining that some of the most enlightening of her field interviews were not necessarily the elite interviews, but rather her discussions with a variety of ordinary citizens going about their daily work. She was also struck by the ways in which the colonial and post-colonial State had continued to police the black female body, a reflection of a confluence, in this regard, of Victorian values and patriarchal aspects of African culture.

For his part, Dr Kabumba reiterated the need for continuing introspection on the part of African societies, if organic constitutional orders – more capable of attracting consensual and genuine compliance – are to be achieved. He also conceded that the legal profession in Uganda has not lived up to its potential in terms of promoting constitutionalism and the rule of law. This has been due, in no small part, to the nature of legal education – and higher education in general – which remains out of tune with the concerns and lived reality of the majority of the population.

(left) Dr Busingye and Dr Serunkuma pose for a group shot with Ugandan, Oxford students after the GRAIN convening.

Keep an eye on the AfriSoc Term Card for upcoming GRAIN convening on ‘Disease and Inequality in Africa’ and ‘Colonialism and the South-Sudanese Identity’. For questions related to GRAIN please contact: secretary@oxforduniversityafricasociety.com

Having just departed from Black History Month which ended on October 31, we will share a range of resources covering a variety of topics and interests including events, websites, media and important books by brilliant black authors. There are many sources on black history, and the lists provided here are not exhaustive, but we see them as a first step in creating a platform that encourages enquiry and dialogue. African history spans across countries and continents, cultures, disciplines and centuries and we hope that the resources shared reflect this diversity, especially as we celebrate African Oxons at large, even after Black History Month. We hope you enjoy the resources below:

Blogger: Chimwemwe Phiri just completed an MSc in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology. She is working with Afrisoc to set up the African Oxons project and will assist by curating the project page and activities. She has experience conducting archival research and is available to offer training and advice on finding materials in repository institutions. She has learnt that unearthing histories of Africans in Oxford is not as straightforward and requires creativity in the terms used when searching databases and communicating with Archivists. She assisted with the commemoration of AfriSoc’s 60th Anniversary.

The African Oxons Project has been in the pipeline since the beginning of summer 2018 and is ready to launch digitally! The 2018-19 Oxford Africa Society committee has affirmed as one of its mandates this year, to ensure institutional memory of the Society itself and of Africans at Oxford. We also aim to celebrate Pan-Africanism and the importance of purposefully engaging and strengthening each other from all parts of Africa and her Diaspora, in unity. We aspire to create a culture of oneness, of unwavering goodwill and support for each other, towards realizing an African advancement, that is truly remarkable and satisfactory, and realizable in our time.

In ensuring institutional memory of both the Africa Society as an organization, and of the achievements of Africans and the African Diaspora at Oxford, we must boldly publicize, and celebrate intentionally and perpetually, the relatively seldom highlighted lives and contributions of all those who have been here. We will learn about their time at Oxford, their struggles and achievements here, and their remarkable service to humankind outside this most historic city of spires. This, we hope will guide us in our own achievements and contributions to Pan-Africanism and African development.

What Form will the African Oxons Project Take?

Through a series of flash cards, blog and vlog posts, AfriSoc will celebrate the achievements of Africans at Oxford and beyond by looking at important moments in the history of African scholarship at the University of Oxford, launching this October during Black History Month. In the UK, Black History Month was first recognised in 1987, and since then the month of October has been dedicated to celebrating important events and people in the history of Africa and the African Diaspora. While we use Black History Month as a departure point for this project, we will purposefully be highlighting as many African Oxons as possible whose histories we may discover in this project. 2018 marked the 60th anniversary of the Oxford Africa Society, and a celebration in June spearheaded efforts to look into the history of Africans in Oxford. We hope to draw attention to scholars and change agents, past and also present, those well-known, and those less-known but have gone on to do remarkable things in their countries and fields of study.

We hope to compile a comprehensive list of scholars of African descent who have studied at the University of Oxford. We are open to receiving names and details of scholars that some of you may know. Tracing the diverse number of African students who have attended Oxford will be useful as it will further encourage applications by Africans to the University- this will be a much-needed source of inspiration, and a great tool to address access issues that continue to impinge applications by Africans.

Archival research in Oxford has generated important documents and photographs of Africans. AfOx in 2017, shared details about notable people of African descent who were awarded degrees at Oxford. There is still a lot to be done, and we are interested in collating various resources ranging from photographs, videoclips and memoranda, that tell of student experiences. Please get in touch if you are interested in searching archives, are willing to share your own material, or can connect the society with past students.

Acknowledgements

The African Oxons Project was honed by different sources of inspiration. The first, our preparations leading to our 60th anniversary celebrations in June 2018, collecting bulletins and posters and old pictures from Dr. Phyllis Ferguson and Prof. Patricia Daley, and doing archival research at the Pitt Rivers Museum with Ms. Chimwemwe Phiri, our African Oxons Project lead who recently completed her MSc in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology. Further inspiration was drawn from the Black Cantabs series at Cambridge, their curators Njoki Wamai and Surer Mohamed, and friends who would share their amazing work. Ms. Pamela Roberts, a dear friend of AfriSoc, has shared her discovery of the first ever Black Student at Oxford from Sierra Leone, inspiring us to advance this work within our own domain, with a close focus on Africans at Oxford. Mrs. Nana Ayebia Clarke, MBE, also a close friend of AfriSoc and the distinguished editor of the iconic Heinemann African Writers Series, for which she received an honourary MBE, has encouraged us and offered her guidance and direct support in this pursuance. I also acknowledge the various African historians on social media who are using the power of these media to educate, celebrate, and inspire as many as they can reach with their findings on personalities, and places, and occurrences in time, across Africa, whose efforts we also honour through this project.

Finally, I extend our greatest gratitude to Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, whose kind donation to the Oxford Africa Society during our 60th anniversary trip to Ghana in September 2018 has made the African Oxons Project possible.

A Call to Engage!

It’s time to celebrate our own as the Oxford Africa Society here at Oxford. I believe, undoubtedly, that we will draw great inspiration from knowing who has been before us, that unearthing their stories will ensure that they remain with us, that their good works, and even their merely being here will remind us; to push on, and to do excellently well for Africa and the world.

I welcome you all to join us in establishing this project as a core part of The Oxford Africa Society’s programming. Please share our posts and do get in touch right away if you would like to be a part of our curation. Thank you!

The Oxford Africa Conference is the leading interdisciplinary conference on Africa delivered by a team of Oxford students. The conference brings together heads of state, policy-makers, business leaders, academics, artists, students, and professionals to critically expand the discourse on Africa. In its eighth year running, the conference aims to provide a vibrant platform for new thinking about a global Africa across all disciplines – politics, society, business, technology and academia – connecting inter-generational leaders from around the world to shape an integrated and innovative perspective on Africa’s future. Last year’s conference included high profile speakers, such as President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina J Mohammed and First Lady of Namibia, Madame Monica Geingos: www.oxfordafricaconference.com.

Program Manager

About the role: The program manager is a fundamental part of the programmatic development of the conference. They will be responsible for the content of the conference and for finding an ideal combination of plenary sessions, keynotes and smaller break-out sessions. They will help develop critical questions for speeches and panel discussions related to the theme and work closely with Speakers Manager on developing thoroughly researched biographies and descriptions of speakers and events for the website. They will also be responsible for content of programme leaflet on the day of the conference.

Speakers Manager

About the role: The speaker manager will contribute to advance African discourse on the campus and beyond. They will manage the speaker invitation process of the entire team, do research on potential speakers, draft invitations to high profile speakers to attend the conference, track communication with all speakers and solicit and edit professional bios from them. They will also liaise with Logistics team to organize accommodation/local travel and communication for high profile speakers and strategize on the role of speakers in the context of the program i.e. is a speaker best suited for a plenary session.

Media and Marketing Manager

About the role: The media and marketing manager is an important part in making the conference the largest student run Africa conference in Europe. The role involves managing the Oxford Africa Conferences' social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), drafting 2 or 3 press releases for the conference and coming up with advertising concepts and ideas for the conference with the help of the team. They will also work with designers to finalize promotional material for the conference (banners, posters, flyers) and plan new ways to engage with the public.

Sponsorship Manager

About the role: The sponsorship manager will guide the outreach of the conference team and network with sponsors which have included McKinsey, TouchRoad and HLF. They will be develop a value proposition unique to each sponsor, create and negotiate sponsorship packages, work with Finance and Logistics to track funds, ensure that sponsorship stipulations are carried out and assist with getting sponsor representatives to the Gala dinner and networking sessions.

Finance Manager

About the role: This role is suited to those with a background in finance and book-keeping. They will help develop the budget and financial framework of the conference, work with the Treasurer of the Afrisoc committee to manage and approve spending and manage the pricing and distribution strategy of ticketing.

Logistics Manager

About the role: The Logistics manager is in charge of everything related to venues for the conference. They will also be in charge of accommodation and travel arrangements for speakers and innovators and are responsible for catering for conference days. They will work closely with all other members of the team to support with logistics.

IT Manager

About the role: The IT manager is in charge of providing infrastructures that will help the conference engage a large audience in Oxford and abroad. They will run and manage the website together with Media/Marketing Manager, develop IT tools for the conference and will be responsible for the IT Logistics on the day of the conference, including the live stream.

Events Manager

About the role: The events manager is in charge of major pre-conference and after-conference events. They will secure venues and plan the Gala dinner and organise the after-party in collaboration with the Social Secretary of the Afrisoc Committee.

How to Apply

Send your CV and a 1-page Cover letter to africa.society[at]studentclubs.ox.ac.uk and cc president@oxforduniversityafricasociety.com Your email should have the following subject: OxAfrica18 - Application - [Role]

If you would like to be considered for more than one role, please indicate so in the cover letter, but use the preferred role in the email subject. Your CV and Cover letters should be sent as attachments to the email. Please ensure that your CV is up to date with your Oxford degree.

Students dressed in sub fusc pose for a picture after matriculating (credit: Africa Oxford Initiative)

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Afrisoc Scholarships and Access Committee (SAC).

As mentioned to some of you during orientation, this year, in continuation to the previous efforts of the SAC, our goal is to increase the number of Africans in Oxford. We have two main objectives namely; increasing the application pool and exploring opportunities to grow funding available to African applicants.

This term, we kindly entreat your collaboration in realizing our first objective of increasing the application pool, through our mentorship program.

1) The mentorship program is an opportunity for you to be a mentor to an aspiring African applicant. As a mentor, we would partner you with an applicant who would then have you as a contact person for any guidance/questions/clarifications. The pairings are based on mutual academic interest and or country of origin.

As a mentor last year, I had a few Skype calls with my mentees, I read through their application material and provided guidance, and I pointed out different scholarships and funding opportunities I knew of . You would do something similar to that.

If you are interested in being a mentor, kindly fill out the brief form (https://goo.gl/forms/kqG03AhCcSEQU1Sz1) attached herein and we will get in touch with you shortly on how you can fully participate.

2) In addition to being a mentor, we would like you to kindly help us in spreading the word and encouraging as many people as we know to apply. We will be reaching out in the next week or so with full details and material that you can circulate via social media and email to encourage people to apply.

Thank you to everyone who applied for the Oxford Africa Conference Co-Chair positions. We received many strong applications from a group of talented, ambitious and accomplished individuals. If your application was not successful or you would like to get involved, please consider applying for a Conference Manager Position. In no particular order, the following applicants were successful in this round:

Anupah Makoond

I am an Msc. in Evidence Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation candidate and will subsequently pursue an MBA as part of the Said Business School MBA 1 +1 programme. I hope that these two years will equip me with the skills and afford me the space to explore pathways towards more effective peacebuilding. I have spent the last five years working on peacebuilding projects in conflict affected societies, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, I worked for a civil society platform, advocating for more effective drug policies in Mauritius. I have been lucky to live in, and travel to, different parts of Africa and find immense beauty in its diversity. As co-chair of the 2019 Africa Oxford Conference, I hope to tap into the multiplicity of facets and resources that Africa and the African diaspora have to offer.

Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh

Mr. Prosper Ahmed Amuquandoh is a trained Theoretical Physicist, Mathematician, and Computer Scientist. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2006 with First Class Honours in Physics and Computer Science. His has also carried out graduate studies at the Abdus Salam Internal Centre for Theoretical Physics and the University of Trieste, both in Italy. He is currently an AIG Scholar and a candidate in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) Programme, at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

Prosper is a practicing Energy Engineering, Policy, Regulatory and Communication Professional. Since joining Ghana’s energy sector in 2012, he has been instrumental in a number of developments in the sector. He was part of the team that developed the Concept and Implementation Framework for Ghana’s National Rooftop Solar Program, currently being implemented. He was a member of the team (where he served as a member of the Technical Committee and Chair of the Media and Publicity Committee) that organised Ghana’s First, Second, and Third Renewable Energy Fairs in 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also served on the National Risk Management Team for the implementation of the Paperless System at Ghana’s Ports to increase compliance with standards and regulations, and facilitate trade in West Africa.

Leveraging on his technical knowledge and communication skills, Prosper, in recent years, has been a resource person on VOA and a number of local TV and Radio stations in Ghana, where he speaks on national energy policies and initiatives. He has also been a speaker at a number of internal and local conferences. Prosper has consulted for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on sustainable energy and green economy issues. He is currently the National President of the World Energy Council’s Future Energy Leaders, Ghana (FEL–Ghana).

In September 2017, Prosper was adjourned the highest achiever in Ghana’s energy sector under the age of 40, at Ghana’s maiden 40 Under Forty Awards Ceremony. In the same year, he was a finalist for the Rising Star Award at the maiden Ghana Energy Awards. In 2016, he was awarded the Mandela Washington Fellowship Award by President Barack Obama. In the same year, Prosper was a finalist for the Future Energy Leader Award in West Africa, at the West African Power Industry Awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria.

Primrose Adjepong

Primrose is a candidate in the Master of Public Policy program and an Oxford-Poler Scholar at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Having been educated at the African Leadership Academy in South Africa and being an African entrepreneur herself, she is passionate about advancing African development in different fields and capacities. During her undergraduate years at St Andrews University, she was responsible for creating Africa-focused events and hopes to draw from those experiences to co-create what will be a landmark conference for all attendees.

Her specific areas of interest include social justice, education and community development. She has worked in Senegal and The Gambia with research and advocacy groups to eradicate female genital mutilation, and in Hong Kong to deliver educational workshops for refugees, asylum seekers and the wider community. Born and raised in Ghana, Primrose is passionate about education in Ghana. She co-founded Butterfly Effect, a start-up which creates unconventional educational curricula and experiences, which serve to supplement the Ghanaian national curriculum in selected under-resourced schools. She seeks to sharpen through her current masters, her ability to design, deliver and measure the impact of good policy so that she can impact many more Ghanaians and Africans on a larger scale, particularly in education but more broadly in building human-capacity.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR THE CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR POSITION IF YOU HAVE APPLIED FOR A POSITION ON THE AFRICA SOCIETY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Applicants will not be allowed to occupy two offices (e.g. Treasurer and Conference Co-Chair) of the Society. Those who would like to volunteer for both opportunities are encouraged to do the following:

apply for the executive committee

wait to hear results by Thursday 11th October

If you are unsuccessful on the executive committee application cycle, submit an application for the conference co-chair by Friday 12th October at noon (12:00PM).

About

The Oxford Africa Conference is the leading interdisciplinary conference on Africa delivered by a team of Oxford students. The conference brings together heads of state, policy-makers, business leaders, academics, artists, students, and professionals to critically expand the discourse on Africa. In its eighth year running, the conference aims to provide a vibrant platform for new thinking about a global Africa across all disciplines – politics, society, business, technology and academia – connecting inter-generational leaders from around the world to shape an integrated and innovative perspective on Africa’s future.

Co-Chairs

About the role: The Conference Co-Chairs will lead a committee in planning and delivering the conference. Responsibilities include managing sponsorship, speakers, conference programming (including overall theme), media and publicity, logistics, and an innovation fair showcasing entrepreneurs from the continent. The co-Chairs will work closely with the Africa Society committee, as well as other Africa-focused groups in Oxford to organize the conference. Given the intensity of an Oxford post-graduate degree, co-chairs need to be extremely organized and competent in managing often stressful and potentially frustrating environments, while maintaining their academic standards. We stress that potential candidates should fully commit to the conference, and not be involved in too many other activities in Oxford, as this role is demanding.

Skills required:

Highly motivated and engaged

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Good interpersonal skills, organisational ability and time management

Attention to detail and ability to work effectively under pressure

Negotiation skills

Willingness to work unsociable hours

Wide network across Africa (useful, but not mandatory)

How to Apply

Send your CV and a 1-page Cover letter to africa.society@studentclubs.ox.ac.uk and cc president@oxforduniversityafricasociety.com. Your email should have the following subject: OxAfrica19 - Application - [Role]

Please note that the applications of those who apply for executive committee positions will not be considered until after the committee positions have been filled. If anyone is interested in both, we suggest they apply for executive first and then apply for the co-chair roles after the results of the executive are announced on Thursday 11th October

The Oxford University Africa Society is calling for applications for the following positions on the 2018-2019 Committee:

Treasurer

Social Secretary

The powers, duties and responsibilities of these respective positions are reflected in the below extract from the Constitution and By-Laws to the Oxford University Africa Society as approved on 20 May 2018.

All applications are due by noon (12:00PM) on Wednesday 10th October 2018. Applications must include a one page resume and cover letter explaining your suitability and passion for the role.

Applicants who meet the requirements will be evaluated and a successful applicant will be appointed by the committee including our senior member through a process of cooptation. Successful applicants will be announced by Thursday 11th October 2018.

Description of Committee Positions

The Treasurer’s powers, duties and responsibilities are outlined in section 22 of the Constitution and include: keeping a proper record of the Society’s financial transactions in accordance with current accepted accounting rules and practices; develop and implement control procedures to minimise the risk of financial exposure; ensure that bills are paid and cash is banked in accordance with the procedures developed; prepare an annual budget for the Society, and regularly inform the Committee of progress against that budget; lead fundraising efforts of the Society and manage relationships with sponsors.

The Social Secretary’s powers, duties and responsibilities shall include: Managing the social agenda of the Society which includes the discussion, planning and execution of social and intellectual events; Considering the integration and accommodation of all members of the Society all parts of the African continent in the planning of the events;giving an account to the Members of the events held during the year at the annual general meeting; if necessary, leading the appointment of an assistant social secretary to aid in the execution of the duties and responsibilities.

For the full list of duties, powers and responsibilities, please refer to the Oxford University Africa Society Standard Constitution and its By-Laws available here.